Questioning of Lei Feng’s Frugality Leads to Detention

When online posts surfaced questioning the legendary frugality of a long-dead model soldier, Chinese police sprang into action. On Wednesday, the Public Security Ministry announced the detention of four people for slanderous Internet postings.

The detentions, which were widely publicized by state media, are part of a renewed effort by authorities to control the Internet, especially the Twitter-like services that are the least fettered channels for public discussion in China.

European Pressphoto Agency

A visitor poses for photos beside a statue of Lei Feng, a soldier whom the government has promoted as a model of humility and selflessness for the past four decades.

In a statement on the ministry’s website, police identified two of those detained as Yang Xiuyu, founder of the online promotion company Beijing Erma Interactive Marketing and Planning Co., and employee Qin Zhihui. Two other employees who were not named in the statement were also detained. They were accused of fabricating and spreading rumors online, harming the reputations of others and making illegal profits.

Advertisement

Messrs. Yang and Qin targeted a variety of public figures in their postings, including a well-known military affairs commentator and the head of China’s Disabled Persons’ Federation, the police said. Their tactic – to make outrageous statements or claims in order to attract attention and online traffic – is familiar to Chinese web users, who call it “rocking China with rumors.” Mr. Yang’s company, Beijing Erma, was paid by clients to delete online posts and track down the Internet protocol addresses — an electronic signature — of individual computers, the police said.

Beijing police took notice after receiving complaints about online posts mocking Lei Feng, the soldier whom the government has promoted as a model of humility and selflessness for the past four decades. Praised by officials, taught in schools and celebrated on an annual “Learn from Lei Feng” day, Lei Feng is the subject of much derision by many Chinese who see him as a socialist throwback in the free-market, materialistic China of today.

One of the posts, a screenshot of which can still be found online, suggested Lei was corrupt, spending 90 yuan on his clothes while his soldiers’ salary was only 6 yuan.

“The glorious image of Lei Feng was being questioned by some web users,” said the police statement. “Many web users reported this to the police demanding a thorough investigation of the creators of the rumors defaming Lei Feng’s image.”

The detentions drew mixed reaction online with some supporting the clampdown on irresponsible postings while others said the government would likely censor truth along with rumor.

The case and the reaction show the government’s difficult challenge in trying to control what people see and think in the Internet era. The police statement said Mr. Qin had a history of circulating rumors. After a collision of trains on the country’s high-speed rail network in eastern China in July 2011, Mr. Qin claimed in an online posting that the government was offering 200 million yuan ($32.7 million) in compensation to foreign victims, the police said. The sum is more than 200 times the compensation that state television said was originally offered to Chinese victims. The posting was re-tweeted 12,000 times within 2 hours before it was taken down, the police said.

After authorities would shut down one of Mr. Qin’s microblog, or Weibo, accounts, he would open a new one, each time using a variant of the same online moniker “Qin Huohuo”, police said. The name means “Fire Fire Qin.” In all he accumulated 12 accounts from 2011, drawing more than 100,000 followers, the police said.

About China Real Time Report

China Real Time Report is a vital resource for an expanding global community trying to keep up with a country changing minute by minute. The site offers quick insight and sharp analysis from the wide network of Dow Jones reporters across Greater China, including Dow Jones Newswires’ specialists and The Wall Street Journal’s award-winning team. It also draws on the insights of commentators close to the hot topic of the day in law, policy, economics and culture. Its editors can be reached at chinarealtime@wsj.com.